Toru
could see the poor guy was extremely nervous, so she smiled happily.
"Of course I'll go!I'll meet you outside the cinema at
11am."

"BOOYAH!!!
I mean, cool, it's a date!"

Toru
laughed as Minoru ran back to his friends. "Miss Honda, what was
that all about?"

Yuki
and Kyo were standing behind her. "Oh, nothing much, really. Minoru
Konno just asked me to go out with him tomorrow. Umm, that's if,
it's alright with you two?"

Kyo's
face was turning red. "Of course it's not alright! It's not
fair for you to go out with one of the most popular guys in the
school! Have you no consideration for anyone else's feelings? Why
can't you go out with me, for once?! I -"

He
stopped yelling abruptly, noticing the blush spreading across Toru's
face, and the odd expression on Yuki's face. "Oh, crap. Did I
just say all of that aloud?"

Yuki
and Toru watched, bemused, as Kyo ran away, blushing from head to
toe. "Umm… So is it alright with you, if I go?" Toru asked
Yuki.

"Miss
Honda, I think it'd be lovely for you to go out with someone else
for once. Since when have I ever stopped you from doing what you
want? Go ahead, don't mind Kyo, he's just jealous."

------------------------

Walking
down the path to the house, Toru suddenly realized Yuki was being
strangely silent. "Yuki, is anything the matter? If you're ill,
you should tell me, so I can prepare something for you," she said.

"No, Miss Honda, I'm
fine. But… I was wondering, what do you think of Minoru?"

"I
think he's quite handsome, and kind. He's very popular with all
the girls, almost as popular as you are. Why do you ask?"

"Miss
Honda, do you actually have feelings for him? As in, do you actually
like him?"

Toru
went into one of her embarrassed flusters, babbling incoherently.
"No, of course not, I mean, he's nice and everything, so I guess
I do like him, but not in that way, it'd be nice to go out with
him, that's what I'm doing tomorrow, so I guess I'm going to be
very happy to be with him, but oh, no, of course I don't actually
like him!"

Yuki
laughed. "It's alright, Miss Honda, no need to get all worked up
like that. Anyway, have fun tomorrow, and don't stay out too late,
or Kyo will get jealous and start jumping to all the wrong
conclusions."

---------------------------------

Later
that night, Yuki lay in his bed, sleep eluding him, consumed by
thoughts and regrets. Why hadn't he beaten Minoru to Toru? He had
always known Minoru liked her. Anyone would like her. She was pretty,
clever, kind… Everything a guy wanted in a girl. His problem was
that he was too cowardly, weakened by his curse, afraid to ever get
close to a girl. But Toru knew about the curse, so wouldn't it be
alright to love her? But no, he was too slow, too cautious. In the
game of love, there was no time to hold back. In the game of love,
you needed to get what you wanted, and quickly, before anyone else
got it first. Only after that, can you slow down, and relax.

Yuki made up his mind.
Minoru would have to pay - for stealing his Toru. Getting out of bed,
he quietly walked to Toru's room. The door was open, and he slid
inside, carefully making his way to her bedside, making sure she
wouldn't wake up and see him. Standing there, he gazed at her
peaceful sleeping face, and his heart ached strangely. Softly, he
kissed her, and ran out of the room, back to his own bed, where he
could wallow in self-pity, and make plans to get her back. For
himself.

----------------------------

Hmmm…
yes. Nice chapter. To be continued.

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